Trouble
by brokenrussiancrawl
Summary: Layla and Warren have become friends, its a little weird for them but it works. But for some reason everytime Layla and Warren are together, one of them ends up getting in to trouble. Sequel is now up! It is called: Hassle!
1. Chapter 1

**Fact about me, Brokenrussiancrawl:  
>There is something fulfilling about writing a story. Or even finishing one is an achievement of its own for me. Getting comments is nice; hearing that people like my story and are waiting to read more, or saying that they want me to continue to write for certain characters is a pleasing thing to a gal like me.<strong>

**Trouble**

Layla looked out the bus window and sighed. She had tried to get out of going to school. She wasn't going to lie to her mom and tell her she was sick, no she just asked her mom flat out if she could skip today. Her hero support class was supposed to pick a person in the hero classes to be there 'sidekick'.

She didn't want to do it, because she was sure that Will was going to want her to pick him, but she wasn't. Instead, she made up her mind to ask Warren if she could be his supporter. He hadn't said much, just looked at her and shrugged saying, "Better you, than anyone else."

Layla had taken that as a compliment. Warren wasn't big on compliments and when he did give one, he was normally putting someone else down. She had smiled at him and said that she would try because she was sure that someone else wanted to be his partner just as much as she wanted to.

Warren just gave her a look that clearly said, 'no one else is going to be my partner. It's you or no one.' Again, Layla felt flattered. But she didn't let Warren know that was how she was feeling; instead she smiled and walked away before he could see how happy she was.

It was a shock to Layla that Warren actually talked to her. When they first met she knew he didn't like her because she was Will's best friend. Of course when Will started taking to hero classes with Gwen, going out with Gwen, partying with Gwen, his hatred for her didn't last long. It was funny, their friendship happened by her crying over Will at her favorite Chinese restaurant and they just got to talking and he was a pretty cool guy. He made her smile and laugh and he had a pretty good sense of humor.

On Monday she didn't think that he would want to talk to her, but when she got to her locker she saw him leaning against the wall and she had asked her if she were feeling any better that she was last night. She had smiled at his concern and from there a strange and unexpected friend ship began to grow between them.

Layla was ripped by her thoughts as the bus landed with an impact that made Layla's head whip back and made her bite down on to her lower lip. She wished she was paying a little more attention to where they were so she would have had time to brace herself. Looking up the bus driver caught her gaze and gave her an apologetic smile and then opened to doors to let the students off. Layla waited for everyone to pass her then she followed after.

Magenta was there waiting for her and she smiled at her friend, "Hey."

"Hey," Magenta said looking bored. Layla didn't take it personally; she knew that this was how she reacted to everything.

They didn't say anything to each other; they just began to walk to their lockers that were close to each other's. As they walked thru the open doors Layla saw a figure leaning against the wall next to her locker. She couldn't hide her smile as she looked at the dark figure that was dressed in all black and was wearing a leather jacket. The person was glaring at anyone and everyone that passed by him, even if they didn't look at him.

Magenta saw him to and sighed. She never liked new people, but for some reason she really didn't like him. Layla wondered why, but she didn't ask because she knew she wouldn't like the answer. Magenta rolled her eyes when the figure spotted them and stood up straighter like he had been waiting for them.

"I'll see you in class," she grumbled before stalking off.

Layla watched her go and then shook her head; she wondered what was making her so upset. She frowned as she continued to her locker. When she was closer to her friend she gave him a short half smile and began to open her locker.

"What's her problem?" Warren asked.

Layla rolled her eyes. She knew that Warren didn't like Magenta any more then Magenta like him. But he had a reason: he didn't like anyone. Sometimes Layla wondered if he really liked her.

"She doesn't like you very much." Layla thought there was no point in lying to him.

He smiled at that, "Well the feeling is mutual. What I want to know is why."

Layla was wondering the same thing, but she just shrugged as began to collect her books for her class.

"Are you still going to pick me, of am I going to get stuck with the guy who glows?"

Layla laughed, "He's not that bad, I promise. But you have nothing to worry about, I'm picking you."

"Good," was all he said as they began to walk to the gym.

Warren held the door open for her and let her walk in before him. They broke up and went to stand with their classes. Coach Boomer began to scream names off a clip board in a random order. Layla's name was the third name to be called.

Layla stepped forward and faced Boomer. "Who do you want?" he asked in a bored tone as if he already knew who she was going to choose.

Layla stuck out her chin and stood taller than she was a minute before. "I choose Warren Peace."

Boomer nodded and began to write down on the clip board but stopped and looked up at her in shock, "Really?" Layla nodded and stepped over to Warren. "Okay then," was all Boomer said before he began to call other names.

Will walk up to her with Gwen following behind, "Why didn't you pick me?" Will asked in any angry voice.

Layla turned to him and smiled a little, "Because Warren wanted me to."

"I wanted to work with you too," Will said in frustration.

Layla didn't say anything to him, she just turned away and faced Warren again. Will wasn't too happy about that and he grabbed her arm to swing her around to face him. Layla gasped in pain at how hard he grabbed her and tried to pull away, but that didn't do anything; he held on stronger.

Warren was in front of her in an instant, prying Will's hand from her arm and throwing him across the room. You could see the steam coming off of him and Layla backed up as the fire popped up from his jacket.

Will was on his feet in a flash and was moving towards him at a fast pace. Will hit Warren, but he didn't go anywhere. He didn't even flinch, all he did was threw a fire ball at a shocked Wills face.

Coach Boomer came over to see what was going on and began barking orders, using his super voice to try and get the boys attention. It didn't work. They kept going at it both getting thrown across the room by the other.

Layla didn't want them to fight any more, so as they were picking themselves off the ground and began to move towards each other, she ran in between them and stood her ground.

"Get out of the way!" Will said to her, but she wasn't looking at him.

Warren glared at Will for a moment longer before looking at Layla and calmed down, the fire that had covered his body was gone and she knew it would take few minutes for his skin to cool down also. She also know that if Will said the wrong thing he would be all flames in a heartbeat and that was what Layla wanted to avoid.

"I think we should go," she said so that only Warren could hear her.

He looked at Will then back at her. He sighed and then nodded his head in agreement. They began to walk to the door and Will started to stay something. But he was cut off by a vine that grew out of the floor and wrapped itself around Will's mouth. As Layla held the door for Warren she looked back and locked eyes with Will. She gave him a hard look and tightened the vine for a moment to let him know that she really meant for him not to say anything.

She walked out of the gym and followed Warren for a moment before he anger came her, "What was that?"

He turned to her and glowered, "What do you mean, that was me saving your ass."

"You don't have to use that language. And I didn't need to be saved." She crossed her arms.

Instead of taking her bait for the argument he took hold of her arm gently so he could look at it. For a moment Layla wondered what it was that he was looking at, but then she remembered how hard Will had grabbed her. As she glanced down she noticed an ugly bruise already beginning to form.

She knew he was getting upset by the fact that his touch began to burn a little. He pulled back and ran a hand threw his hair, "I should rip his head off."

"No, you should," Layla said in a calm voice.

"He gave you a bruise, Layla." Warren said in outrage.

"I was there." She shot back at him.

"Are you sure? Cause your acting like nothing happened." Warren's legs braced and he crossed his arms over his chest.

She didn't want to fight, she didn't. But he was being so hard headed that she just wanted to throttle his neck a little. A cartoon flashed threw her mind of a woman chocking a man and his eyes rolling to the back of his head. She couldn't help it, she giggled.

Warren looked at her like she was weird but that only made her laugh harder. After some time Warren cracked a smiled and began to laugh with her. If anyone looked at them she was sure that people would think that they were crazy, standing in the middle of the hallway laughing at nothing. Or maybe they would be too shocked to do anything but stare at Warren because he was laughing. And he never laughed. Well not in public.

They sobered after a moment, and she grinned at him. He just shook his head at her.

"Thank you," she said after a moment. "It was really nice of you to stick up for me. Even in your own way."

"Whatever," he mumbled.

"It's not whatever to me, you stood up for me, and it means a lot to me," Layla took his hand and just for a second she felt him squeeze her hand in return.

Just then Principle Powers came up and Warren and Layla let go of each other. "Warren I need you to come with me."

Warren nodded and looked over at Layla who gave him a sad look in return. She didn't want him to be in trouble. It was her fault he was in this mess to begin with. She should have just chosen Will and then everyone would have carried on living their lives without any confrontation. But no she had to choose Warren when she knew that Will would be angry.

But Warren smirked at her and gave her a wink as he began to follow Powers to her office, where she was sure he was going to be in trouble.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two**

'I'm such an ass.' Will thought to himself as he walked down the hallway. He couldn't believe what he had done to Layla. She was his best friend and he hurt her. He didn't mean to let his temper get the best of him. It was just the fact that she said she would choose him. Not Warren. That was no excuse; there was no excuse for hurting your best friend that you have known ever since they were little kids.

Will sighed, what was he going to do? He knew that if he apologized that it would not be good enough. She was a really forgiving person and she let him pass on so many things, like being a horrible best friend and canceling on hang out nights. Will couldn't even remember the last time they talked on the phone.

It wasn't that he didn't want to hang out with her; it was just that he was with Gwen and she was taking up a lot of his time now. It seemed as if he could never make her fully happy. It sucked. Whenever he wasn't with her, she was on the phone with him, she was texting him, showing up where he is, she was there all the time.

He liked Gwen a lot, but sometimes he just wished that she would give him space to breathe. Give him a chance to hang out with his friends and have it just like old times, if only for a few hours.

He remembered when he had tried to eat lunch with them. Will shook his head at the memory. She was not happy about sitting at the Hero Support table. She had laughed and called them losers and said that they were better then them now, that we didn't really need them.

Will glanced up when he heard the sound of people talking. It was Layla; she was talking to Magenta about something. He couldn't help himself; he walked up behind them and cleared his throat to get their attention.

They turned to him and he was met with two different reactions. Layla was surprised and Magenta was pissed. She moved to stand in front of Layla, and put her hands on her hips.

"What do you want?" she hissed at him.

"I-I need to talk to Layla." He stammered.

"Haven't you done enough?"

"No, its okay, Mage." Layla stepped out from around Magenta and looked at Will. He smiled at her but she didn't smile back. She placed her hand over her wrist, where he was sure that there was a bruise.

He nodded at her wrist, "I'm sorry. I honestly didn't mean to grab you like that. I was angry and I felt jealous that you would rather be with Warren then with me."

"It's not like that. I didn't choose you because I didn't feel like putting up with Gwen the entire time we are together. I mean come on Will, when was the last time we talked, when was the last time you hung out with us, or anyone with out her around?"

Mage shook her head and smirked. Will knew that she was probably thinking the worst of him, and he couldn't blame her, he would think that same thing if the roles were reversed.

"Things are gonna change, I promise, from now on, we will hang out every Wednesday. With no interruptions from Gwen either."

Layla looked at Magenta who shook her head in defeat. Layla sighed and looked back at him, "Okay, but I swear, Will, this is your last chance." He nodded and was about to give her a hug when the door behind them opened.

Warren came out and looked at the girls with a surprised face. But once he saw Will the sort-of friendliness was gone and it was replaced with a look of hatred. His eyes hardened and his entire body went ridged. Will glanced down and saw that his hands were balled into fists.

'Great, another fight today,' Will thought to himself.

"What are you doing here," Warren growled at him.

"I was just talking to him." Layla said as she looked up at him. "He apologized to me for the bruise and losing his temper."

Warren visibly relaxed and Magenta snickered. Will looked at her with curious eyes. What was that about?

As Will continued to wonder what that was about he didn't hear the argument that Layla and Warren began to get into.

"What are you talking about, he apologized for hurting me." Will caught as he snapped back to the present.

"He hurt you before, what is to stop him from hurting you again?" Warren crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at Layla who had her hands on her hips and was glaring back.

"I just know."

"Well that's not good enough!" Warren raised his voice.

"Don't yell at me like that." Layla pointed at Warren and poked him in the chest, "You do not get to tell me who I can and cannot hang out with."

"Well, I just did."

Will and Magenta both backed up from them. Will was curious about why Warren wasn't flamed up and stuff like that, he didn't understand why it was that when she poked him she didn't get burned.

They seemed to have forgotten that they were in front of the principles office. When Principle Powers stepped out of her office and looked at them she sighed and said, "Is there a problem here?"

Warren and Layla looked at her in shock for a second, and then they both started to talk at the same time. Will caught the word 'dumb' form Warren and the words 'ass, over protective, and none of his business' from Layla.

Powers shook her head and sighed. "Quiet." Both Warren and Layla stopped talking. "I would like to see both of you in my office, right now." With that Powers turned and walked into her office.

"This is your fault." Layla said as she followed the principle.

"My fault? How so?" Warren said as he followed close behind.

Before the door shut Will and Magenta heard Layla say, "Because, you're an ass."

Magenta started to laugh and will looked shocked. He wasn't used to hearing Layla swear, but she did and it was hilarious.

They both laughed as they started to walk down the hallway to lunch.

At least Will had gotten his best friend back. But there was something that wasn't sitting well with him. He didn't like that Layla and Warren were talking, but now they were bickering. It was almost as if they were a couple.

Will stopped at the doors to the lunchroom and frowned, 'were they a couple?' Will didn't like that thought, he didn't want to think about them together. They couldn't be.

**Nice, they just had to get in trouble again? **

**Well what do I do next?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Magenta watched them from across the hall with a frown on her face. Layla and Warren had been getting closer each and everyday and it was starting to make her nervous. What was he up to? Was he just trying to stick it to Will? Did he honestly like her?

Theses were questions that were all unanswered. She could ask Warren, but he doesn't talk to her. Actually, he doesn't talk to anyone, really. Except now he's more than up for the task of talking to Layla.

She rolled her eyes. Magenta knew that even if Layla didn't want it to be true, she was starting to like Warren.

How could she not? He was the hottest guy in school, not just in his powers. He was a stone could stud and even though Layla could look past looks, she wasn't blind. Plus he had that bad boy thing going on. What was there not to be attracted to? A mystery with a dangerous edge; what girl wouldn't be attracted.

Mage turned away from the couple and walked towards her classroom. As she walked her mind kept thinking about Layla and Warren. Maybe the thing that had her attracted to him was that he was a bad boy and Layla wanted to 'fix' him? No, she thought, Layla wouldn't go after a lost cause like that. There was something that she was missing, or just didn't see yet.

She had to admit, they had been acting different to each other lately. Warrens not the uptight ass hole and Layla isn't pushing him to be friends with Will and everyone. As a mater of fact, when ever they are around each other, it's like they are being careful.

Magenta almost laughed. That's exactly what they need to do. They've been getting into trouble a lot lately. Not just at school, but Layla told her that she missed her curfew because she stayed at the Paper Lantern to have dinner with Warren, making her grounded for a week.

Layla had never been grounded. In all the time that she has known her and the way she acted, she knew that it wasn't something that Layla normally does. She's not that type of person.

That's why her father, who could be a hard ass at times, let her go with a warning. Just hearing the story made Magenta shiver. She never wants to be on the receiving end of Layla's father's disapproval.

And that is why she doesn't like Warren. He had taken her best friend and turning her into someone she's not. Oh sure, she might act the same, but is she really the same Layla she first met. Is she the girl who smiled at everyone and protested against animal killers and people who want to chop down trees? Magenta didn't know anymore.

How could she? All the extra time Layla has, goes to WARREN now.

She rolled her eyes. A scowl found its way on to her face.

What was it that he had that no other NICE guy had? Why could Layla choose to befriend a nice guy who would treat her right and wasn't such a hard ass?

"What's got you so upset?" a familiar voice said from beside her.

Mage looked to see Will smiling at him, "Layla and Warren." She answered stiffly.

Will was in front of her in the blink of an eye, "What did he do to her?"

Magenta blinked at him for a second. What was he talking about? "Warren didn't do anything to Layla. Unless, you know something I don't."

"No," Will breathed. "Just concerned for her."

"So am I," Mage mumbled as she stepped around him.

"Hey," Will caught her arm as she was passing him. It felt like a jolt of electricity shot threw her and she jumped away from him. Will let go of her and moved away from her quickly. "What's wrong?"

Magenta thought about not answering him, but the look in his eyes told her he really wanted to know. "It's just…I'm used to Layla being my best friend. I mean, she bumped you and moved on to me within two days, and she's doing the same to me."

Will was silent for a moment. "I was the one who dumped her." Will said softly.

"Oh I know." Mage said, crossing her arms. "You became an ass and thought that Layla would be there when you got tired of your new friends. You weren't very happy when you found out that you were replaced."

Will cringed, "I know and I'm sorry. But Layla isn't me. She's not gonna dump you like I dumped her."

She just looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Have I ever lied to you?" Magenta smiled at that and Will cringed again, "Okay, okay. I give. But just because she's making nice with Warren doesn't mean Layla is going to forget about you."

"I'm not afraid that she's going to forget me," Mage said as she began to walk away from Will. "I'm just afraid that his influence isn't a good one for her."

"What do you mean?"

"She was three hours late home one night for curfew and now shes grounded."

Will was silent for a second, "Why was she so late?"

Mage rolled her eyes, "They were having dinner."

"Is that all they were doing? They weren't doing anything else?" Will asked worriedly.

Magenta spun around to him with a glare, "Who do you think you are? Asking that about your 'best friend', do you even KNOW Layla? Are we still talking about the same girl?" Will stepped back from her. "If you REALY knew her, you would know that she's not that type of girl."

Will raised his hands as if she had a gun pointed at him, "I didn't mean-"

"Yes you did! You are an ass hole!" Magenta slapped Will across the face as hard as she could, but she ended up hurting herself. The only thing he did was widen his eyes. "CRAP!" Magenta screamed, grabbing her hand.

"I'm sorry." Will apologized. But he didn't know why he was. He was the one who slapped her.

"What's going on here?" Coach Boomer asked as he approached them.

"Great," Magenta mumbled under her breath. "Now I'm gonna have detention."

"Follow me." Boomer said turning.

Will tried to help Mage with her bag, but she slapped his hand away. That was a mistake and she had to bite back her cry of pain.

This was JUST great.

**Sorry it's been so long. Lot's have been going on…but the next chapter will be Warren and Layla. I'm running out of ideas on what to do on how to get them in trouble. So if you guys have anything, let me know and I'll see if I can work it into here.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four**

Layla could not believe that coach Boomer gave her detention! It was stupid, petty and ridiculous and the Couch KNEW it. Just because she didn't participate in class didn't give him the right to give her detention. She SAID that she would do all the other stuff for the 'mission' but no, he wanted her to go all or nothing, so she went nothing. Next thing she knew, he was yelling at her that she had detention.

Now, she found herself in a tiny room with four other students in it. They were all starring at her like was a piece of meat and it was starting to unnerve her. It didn't help that the guy closest to her smelled like dead fish or that the girl in the front of the room kept shooting her dirty looks for no apparent reason. Not to mention that the guy behind her was giving her looks that said he was envisioning her without her clothes on. THAT just grossed her out more than the fish smell.

Layla sighed and put her head down, thinking that maybe they would stop looking at her if they couldn't see her face. Hiding her nose in the nook of her elbow she tried to breathe again, but it wasn't working very well; she still smelled the dead fish. The smell was making her sick and she felt like she was going to throw up. It's been three minutes since she sat down and the smell has only gotten worse. Like the kid was trying to make her sick on purpose.

Her head shot up. She blinked then turned to look at the kid who smelled like crap. He was looking at her too, but turned away when he saw her glance over. Layla got it now: that was his power. He was smelly. And he was using it on her. With that thought, she narrowed her eyes at him.

For a second, Layla was tempted to use her own powers on him. But she nipped that thought in the bud. That would be the opposite of why she was here. She didn't use her powers against others, unless they were trying to hurt her, and Mr. Smelly was no threat. He was just an annoyance.

Almost growling, she turned to face the window, hoping the smell would die down.

Two minutes later, the door slammed shut and she heard Mr. Medulla say "Feet down, face me, be silent." as he sat down behind the desk. He looked Layla and she saw shock across his face. "Why are you here?"

The whole class looked at her and waited for her to say something. She didn't want everyone to know why she was there; she just wanted to sit in the back of the room with no one starring at her. Preferably without the horrid smell. Sucking it up, Layla opened her mouth to answer just as the door swung open loudly.

Layla turned to see Warren standing in the door way, face void of any emotion except for annoyance. Layla almost smiled at him. But she didn't, because the guy was in the second row was still watching her.

"Mr. Peace, glad you could join us. Take a seat."

Warren watched her the entire time he crossed the room and sat in the seat beside her. Layla smiled at him sadly. Like she expected, he didn't smile back, but he did nod. That was better than nothing in her opinion.

Mr. Medulla cleared his throat and Layla looked up at him, but every other student was staring at her. Even the guy who had been asleep the entire time they had been in the classroom. They were watching her and Warren with shocked eyes. Layla blushed and hid her head. Great, so much for not being starred at, she thought sarcastically.

"What?" She heard Warren bark and she didn't have to look up to know that everyone looked away now. This time she did smile.

Layla sat up and listened as Mr. Medulla rambled on and on about what we weren't supposed to do. Layla thought to ask if there was anything they COULD do. She was sure that would be a shorter list. Finally, after what felt like hours, he left the room with an obnoxious "I'll be watching."

The class was silent again and the dead fish smell picked up again. Layla almost groaned. She plugged her nose and again, buried her head in her folded arms.

All of a sudden her head snapped up when she heard a loud crash. The desk in front of them was shoved sideways as if it had bumped into the one Mr. Smelly was sitting in. They guys back was straight and he turned around slowly to look at Warren. "Cut that shit out."

They guy blinked and said, "What?"

This time, Layla rolled her eyes, just as she was sure Warren had. "The fish smell," Layla filled in. Mr. Smelly nodded and the smell went away. Layla sighed in relief. "Thanks," she said to Warren after a few minutes.

"He does it all the time, and it pisses me off."

"So, why are you here?"

"I told Ms. Crane where she could shove one of her test. She didn't like it." Warren shrugged and Layla's mouth fell open as she looked at him.

"You did not!"

Warren smirked at her, "No, but I did shove a guy and spilled his lunch down the front of him."

Layla shook her head, "I expect nothing less."

"Why are you here? You aren't one to usually get in trouble." Warren didn't mention the fact that she was grounded.

"I told Coach Boomer that I was not going to use my powers against another student just to save some dumb mannequin." She rolled her eyes and huffed, crossing her arms and slouching in her chair. Warren laughed.

"That was it?" When she nodded, he laughed harder.

"What!"

"Of course you would get in trouble for something so stupid."

She took offence, "It wasn't stupid! I was sticking to what I believed in. "

"Hippie, you believe in a lot of stuff, it's hard to keep up. Maybe I should write a list." Warren joked.

"Maybe you should." Layla said with narrowed eyes. But after a few minutes, she let it go. "Will and his parents are supposed to come over tonight for dinner. I invited Magenta who said that she would come. I was wondering if you would like to come over. My mom's making chicken and this is gonna be the last time I get contact with the outside world in a while." She gave her puppy dog eyes that she knew he could resist.

He starred at her for a long time and she was sure that he was going to reject her. "Fine, but I'm only staying for dinner."

Layla clapped her hands squealing as she gave him a hug. Warren stiffened and when she let go, she knew the whole class was watching. She looked at them all and in her best Warren Sneer said, "What?" Everyone looked away and Layla couldn't help but feel proud of herself.

Warren chuckled, "You're getting better at that, Hippie."

"I learned from the pro," she shot back.

**Sorry, I took FOREVER to write this, but here it is. Hope you like and as always, leave me a message.**

**THANK YOU MOONGRAVE! (I stole this idea from her.)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Warren stood staring at the door wonder what he was doing here. He had been standing in front of the door listening to all the racket going on inside. There was laughter and screaming and most importantly, the sound of something breaking. With a sigh, he looked down and shook his head; he could not believe that he had told Hippy that he would show up to her silly little dinner. Was he crazy? Warren was seriously starting to think he lost some brain power.

Maybe he could slip away and no one would notice him? Maybe if he left now, he could tell Hippy that he was sick or that he had had to work and that was why he didn't show up? Maybe he would see her disappointed face on Monday and know that he hurt her feelings for not showing up…or calling to let her knew ahead of time that he would not show up.

Damn!

This was not good! Here he was thinking about hurting someone's feelings, when before, he could care LESS about how they felt or what they thought of him.

Now here he was, feeling guilty about not calling to let her know that she didn't need to set out an extra placemat BEFORE he even really decided that he was going to blow the party off.

That is it. Warren made up his mind, he was going to go into that house and have a nice time. Or, at least, act like he was. If only for the Hippy's sake.

But no matter what he told himself, he could not make his feet move. They stood rooted to the cement, not wanting to move. That was it, he was going home.

Before he could even move, the door peaked open and the Hippy stuck her head out. His groaned mentally; he was never going to be able to convince her to let him go now. Maybe if he coughed a lot and sniffed at least five times she would catch on and send him away. Then again, knowing her, she would have a sure for anything.

"Warren, you made it!" She opened the door wider and smiled.

He couldn't stop his heart from speeding up at the site of her smile. And he couldn't stop the smirk in answer to her smile.

"Where else would I be?" He asked with a roll of his eyes.

She looked down and crossed her arms as she shifted her feet. "I honestly didn't think you would show up. I was half expecting to see you on Monday and hear about how you were sick or maybe you had to work." She half laughed to herself while she shook her head.

Warren frowned. Was he that transparent? Why did he all of a sudden feel bad about wanting to skip her party?

"I told you I was coming." He tried to make his voice as indifferent as possible.

She looked up and smiled at him, "Yeah, you did."

They starred at each other for a long moment. His heart began to beat faster and faster as she gazed back at him. How was it that he never noticed how beautiful she was before?

Beautiful? When did he start using words like that?

Loud laughter broke their moment and Warren sighed with relief as he was finally able to look away from her. He needed to get a grip before he made a fool out of himself.

Layla smiled as she glanced back into the partly opened door. "Ready to have some fun?"

No! Warren thought to himself. I am not ready. Going into the house would change things. It would change their entire relationship from flirty banter to awkward silences as the other tried to understand what the other wanted. They would be less of acquaintances and more friends. Now he was going to have to become friends with not just the Hippy, but the other nerds too. There goes sitting alone at the lunch table; wave good-bye to his "bad boy" reputation.

Would he ever be able to walk down the halls again without being swarmed by pathetic sidekicks?

No, no he wasn't going to be able to do any of that. His reputation, the one he worked so hard to create, was going to be tarnished because of this party. Okay, that was incorrect. It was going to be tarnished because of the girl standing before him. The one who could smile and light up the room; the one who could bat her eyelashes and get him to do whatever she wants; the girl who had a mean temper and was not afraid to use it.

The girl that he was coming pretty close to falling for.

"Ready as I'll ever be." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Layla smiled at him and his heart skipped a beat. She was beautiful, he thought again.

And just like that, Warren knew why he had said yes to coming to the dinner. Warren knew why he put up with her loud friends and their madness. He knew why he became protective of her and began to think of her as his own.

Damn.

**I am SOOO sorry that it has been a while for an update. And when you get one, it's not even one thousand words . **

**Don't hate me, PLEASE! **

**I thought that this would be a good chapter to show you how Layla and Warrens feelings are changing towards each other. **

**As always, leave me a review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Note: I have no idea what Layla's parents names are, so I just made them up. Sorry if you don't like or agree with the names. And I know Layla said that animals don't like to be eatten in the movie, but I have friends that only eat fish and no other meat. It's weird, but it works. Which is why I put it into my story.**

**Chapter 6**

"Great, the party's here." Magenta said sarcastically as Warren and Layla walked into the room.

Layla blushed when everyone turned to look at them. Layla cleared her throat and step beside Warren, "Everyone, this is Warren. Warren, you already know Will and Magenta. This is Wills' mom and dad. And the couple you here bickering in the kitchen are my parents. Let's go introduce you." Layla said, grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him into a different room.

Sheesh, that was awkward she thought to herself. She didn't think that the Commander would just gap at him like a fish out of water when he finally showed up to the party, but that was just what he did. Was it so hard for people to understand that she and Warren were now friends? Layla had told them that she invited him to dinner. She was positive that she told them that he had said yes to the party too. With a shrug she concluded that they probably thought he wouldn't show. Well, he was here now. And she was NOT going to send him away. That would be rude.

"Mom and dad," Layla called into the kitchen before they turned the corner. "This is Warren."

The couple before them looked up from the table that they were placing and smiled at Warren. "I have heard such lovely things about you," Layla's mom gushed as she moved over towards Warren.

Warren's eyes widened in shock as her mom pulled him into a hug. He stood there uncomfortably in her mother's embrace before he awkwardly patted her back. "Nice to meet you too," Warren said stiffly.

Her mother pulled back and smiled at him, "I hope you came hungry. Layla and I don't eat any meet aside from fish, which means that we have tons of chicken to spare for everyone else." She winked at him.

Layla coughed to cover her laugh as Warren stood there looking like a lost puppy. She should have told him about her mother. But it never came up when they were talking. And this was just how her mother is. Her mother was always a friendly person and loved to give hugs. If there was one thing you could count on when you walked into Layla's house was that you would be getting a hug from Josslyn and a stiff nod from Michael.

Layla's dad cleared his throat and walked up to Warren. He extended his hand and waited for Warren to grasp it. They didn't shake hands; they just stood there staring at each other. Both were unwilling to look away first. Layla watched as her mom began pulled out a huge bowl and began to fill it with Lettuce, acting completely oblivious to the tension in the room. Then again, this was how she always was.

"Wow," Magenta said as she came into the room and stood beside Layla. "I couldn't cut through that eye contact with a chain saw."

"Michael," Layla's dad said curtly.

Warren nodded, "Warren."

They let go of the others hand and began acting like nothing just happened. Magenta and Layla shared a curious look before they shrugged and sat at the counter in front of Josslyn.

"So Magenta, do you have a boyfriend yet?" Layla shot her mom a look that clearly said to back off, but her mom waved her outrage off.

Magenta laughed, "No I don't."

"How come?"

Magenta leaned forward like she was about to share a secret with Layla's mom. Josslyn's eyes sparkled with excitement as she leaned in too. "No one's good enough for me." Mage said before she shrugged and left the counter to grab a glass out of the cabinet. Layla watched her mom's face drop for a second before she smiled again.

"I'm sure you will find someone, Magenta. I mean look at Layla, she found Warren."

Both Warren and Layla's heads snapped towards her in shock, but her mother started to chop up carrots and wasn't paying attention. "Warren and I are just friends." Layla said when she could find her voice.

"Of course you are, hunny." Her mother sent her an outrageous wink before she turned back to the carrots. Layla felt her face burn with a blush when she saw Warren staring at her from her peripheral vision.

Great, Layla thought again. This is going to be so much fun. She was going to go and hide out with Will in the living room until her mother called and said that dinners ready.

"Grubs ready!" Layla heard her mother cry out with glee a few minutes later.

Will and Layla took their normal seats across from each other while Magenta sat next to him and Warren was seated beside her.

"Why didn't you tell me," Warren trialed off looking at her mom.

Layla hid her smile with a frown, "Tell you what?"

Warren looked at her for a moment before he shrugged and looked away. Layla caught Magentas gaze from across the table and they shared a silent moment or laughter. They were both remembering the first time Mage met her mom. Her mother had been sitting in the living room reading a book out loud when they walked in from school. Mage had thought her mom was crazy when Josslyn started to explain that it was their favorite book (Magenta made a huge production of looking around for someone) until the birds started to peck at the widow to get Josslyn's attention. "Sorry, this is their favorite part," she mom said with a wink and began reading again. Magenta stood shocked for about five minutes before she finally blinked and looked at Layla.

Layla's mom had always been acentric. She had seen the pictures of when her mom was a hippy. She had a pretty wild past; arrested for nudity, arrested for protesting, partying and having a blast. She had been getting arrested when she met Layla's father. Her mother liked to explain that it was love at first sight, even though it took two years for Michael to actually kiss her. "He's shy." Her mom would explain.

"This is great, Josslyn," The commander said as they all began to eat. Layla watched her mother's face light up with pride with his comment.

"Thank you. Layla made the desert." Layla smiled. Another thing about her mother: she liked to share the glory.

"What did you make," Will asked in excitement.

Layla shrugged, "Apple Cheesecake."

"Yum," Magenta and Will said together.

Jetstream smiled at her, "So what have you been up to Layla. It's been so long since you've come over."

"I've just been hanging out with new friends and we've had a lot of work at school." Layla explained.

"And you like your classes?" Layla nodded. "That's good."

"So," Layla's dad started. She shot him a warning look but he ignored it. "Warren, when was the last time you saw your father?" Warren instantly tensed.

"Dad! Warren you do not have to answer that. He is being rude." Layla shot her dad a glare.

Michaels face remained impassive. "It's a simple question. It's not like I'm asking when he's going to bust him out of prison." He shrugged and Layla glared harder at him.

"I visited him last Wednesday." Warren said, surprising everyone. "He is doing very well, asked about classes and how my mom was doing." He shrugged like it was no big deal, but Layla was getting warmer by the second. "And no, I am not going to bust him out of prison. There are actually two reasons. One, it's the top prison facility. It is basically impenetrable. And two, my dad doesn't want me to follow in his footsteps."

The room was quiet for a moment, "I always liked you father." Josslyn said with a smile. "Very well-mannered and he never hurt animals."

Layla and Will started to laugh while the rest of the room was silent. "Of course you like him because he didn't hurt animals." Will roared with laughter. Layla couldn't help but laugh that much harder and soon the rest of the table was laughing with them.

Layla saw that Warren was still confused, but chuckling anyways. "It doesn't matter who you are, if you are nice to animals and are polite to her, my mother will like you no matter what you have done or about to do."

Warren grinned at her, "So because my dad didn't hurt any animals in his quest to rule the world, your mother likes him?"

Layla shrugged, "Pretty much."

He shook his head, "And I thought you were a hippy."

Layla laughed along with Josslyn. "I have big shoes to fill." Layla grinned at her mother.

After that, dinner passed by uneventful. They had mild conversation, cracked jokes and got into fake arguments. Soon everyone was leaving, except for Magenta who was spending the night.

"See you guys later," Layla called from her porch to Will's as the family walked in the house. They all waved at her and smiled.

"I'm sorry about my dad. He's a little...um, well he can be a grouch sometimes." Layla shrugged.

"I actually had fun." Warren admitted while he shoved his hands into his pockets.

Layla noticed that they were alone again. But this time, as they stood under the porch, it seemed more intimate.

"Are you glad that you didn't ditch?" Layla asked folding her arms.

Warren smirked at her. "Yeah, I am."

Layla stared at him, "Me too."

They stared at each other for a long time. They didn't say anything to each other, but Layla found herself moving closer to Warren and he was moving closer to her. She leaned forward and he bent down. Layla could barely contain her excitement; she was about to kiss WARREN.

The front door swung open right before their lips were about to touch and they jumped apart. "I hope I'm not interrupting," her dad said crossing his arms.

"No, we were just saying good night." Layla said with a forced smile. On the inside she was yelling at her dad for ruining the moment. That was about to be best kiss she had ever had in her life and he had ruined it. She tried to hide her disappointment.

"Night," Warren nodded at Michael. Her dad nodded back. "Catch you tomorrow, Hippy."

"See you Hot Head." She grinned at him when he narrowed his eyes at her before she spun on her heel and entered her house.

**It didn't take me forever to update this time! But I will admit, it did take a while. I promise, it will change from now on! Stick with me in this story…PLEASE!**

**I enjoyed writing it! I didn't struggle as much as I did with the others before.**

**Let me know what you think by leaving a review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Warren looked around the crowded hallway searching for familiar red hair and a green shirt. He was only guessing that she was wearing green today, but she wore it a lot, so he thought that it was a good guess. Now, Layla could be wearing a different outfit, maybe a different color shirt…or maybe the hideous poncho she liked to wear. He shook his head as he thought about the ugly thing. Warren wanted to burn it, but he knew that for some reason Layla liked the hunk of junk.

He glared as students looked at him and watched in satisfaction as they ran away. Warren was not in the mood; he had barely slept last night, thinking about their almost kiss and how they shouldn't have done it. But most of all, Warren thought about how he was going to have to see her again. This weekend was like a breather for him, a chance to get back to reality, where there was no Layla and his complicated feelings for her. He was barely her friend. He was not about to be her boyfriend.

He liked Layla, sure. But they were from different worlds. His father was evil and her father was…a hard ass. Just like his when his dad was out of prison. Warren had to work for a living, she didn't. He didn't like people, Layla did. He didn't abide by the rules, she…well she did once upon a time. Then she started this 'let's be best friends' thing with him and now she was getting into trouble more often. Getting HIM into trouble more often than usual; one of these days she was going to get his expelled, he thought accusingly.

Maybe they could be friends, Warren conceded. But he was not about to be her boyfriend. If Layla was his girlfriend then his reputation would never be the same. And her friends, oh God, they would never leave him alone. They would sit at his lunch table every day and want to hang out after school with him. That couldn't happen, Warren thought bitterly.

And what about the ass holes…rubber dude and the fat fast kid? What would they have to say about this? Warren knew that he shouldn't care about what people thought. It's not like he cared about what people thought before. But he couldn't help himself this time. Warren rolled his eyes as he thought about what Layla would think. Layla wouldn't care what people thought; she never did. The fact that she wears the ugly poncho was proof.

"Ugh," he said as he slammed a hand into the locker, leaving a light dent in it. Warren wasn't sure whose locker it was, but he knew that it wasn't Layla's and that was a good thing. Because she would have given him hell if it was her locker he dented.

"Um, I didn't know that you liked vandalizing school property so much." Warren spun around at the sound of Layla's voice. "But the lunchroom fight should have been a tip off for me." She told him cheekily.

He wanted to smile at her, but he forced himself to remain expressionless, "You're late to school."

Layla looked at him curiously. "One of the younger students' mother was banging on the window of the bus so she could give her 'hunny-kins' his lunch." Layla mocked and Warren could no longer hold his smile. "If you do that more, people wouldn't be so afraid of you." Layla said as she opened her locker.

Warren became serious again and watched her, "I like people to be afraid of me." He all but growled at her. She stiffened and looked at him with wide eyes. They weren't afraid of him, they were just cautious. He hated that she was being cautious around him; Layla had never been that way around him before and he didn't want her to start now.

Layla nodded her head in confusion, "So, how was your weekend?" She asked like they hadn't shared a moment. Like they didn't almost kiss! How was she being so casual about it?

"Fine," Warren said crossly. This was not how he had planned this moment in his head. She was supposed to come up to him and ask if what they shared at her house the other night made them a couple and he could say that they were not a couple, that they were just friends and were better off that way. But this was not the conversation he thought they would have. Instead, she was acting like they did nothing, like they were really only just friends.

The worst part about the situation was that this was what he wanted. He didn't want any awkwardness between them, and Warren was the one who was making it awkward. Layla was just…being, Layla. And it was pissing him off.

Her confusion grew and so did his temper. "Did something happen?" She asked in an innocent voice.

Warren ran a hand through his hair, "Nothing happened, Layla. The world is prefect." She looked at him for a moment, staring into his eyes like she was looking for something.

"Are you okay?" Layla asked as she turned to face him fully.

"I'm fine," he snapped harshly. Ugh, this was not going the way he had wanted it. Warren wanted to just forget that they had almost kissed. But they did and once he saw her this morning, all he wanted to do was grab her and kiss her and not be interrupted like the last time. Warren thought about the students surrounding them, they wouldn't dare interrupt them.

"Yeah, sure." Layla said as she turned back to locker and pulled her books out before she slammed the door shut, drawing people's attention, and stalked off in the direction of her first class. Warren watched her go for a moment, before he regained his bearings and began to follow her.

"Layla," he caught up to her and took hold of her arm and she spun around and yanked her arm away from him with a force that nearly knocked her over, but she only stumbled before she was standing upright again. If she wanted him to let go of her, all she needed to do was tell him.

"Look, I don't need this. If you want to be mean, go be mean to someone else." She hissed at him, before she tuned and marched away, brushing by her friends in the process. They all looked at Layla and then at Warren in confusion. Magenta shook her head at him and turned to follow her best friend. The other stood there for a second, before they also turned to follow Layla to class.

Warren stood staring at her in shock. She had never talked to him like that before. And she had never walked away from him like that before.

He ran and hand through his hair and looked around. Everyone was watching him and Layla as she continued to walk down the hallway. Warren watched her for a moment half hoping that she would look back at him. Layla never did.

"What," he growled at everyone and shoved his way through the gathering students and stalked to his class. Today did not go the way he planned it…at all.

…..

….

….

"I need to talk to you," Warren said as he cornered Magenta later that day. It was almost the end of the day and he hadn't seen Layla since she had walked away from him this morning.

Okay, that was a lie. He had seen her in their gym class, but she refused to look at him. Somehow she had gotten Will to convince his sidekick in the class to switch with her so she wouldn't have to be Warren's partner today. And at lunch, Layla and her stupid friends didn't sit with him like they had been for the past month. They sat at the table as far away from him as possible. At first, he thought that it was the only table they could find that wasn't his, until he saw three other empty tables and then he realized that she had chosen that table on purpose. That thought was enough to get him smoking. Literally.

"Get out of my face, meat head." Magenta said as she began to walk around him.

Warren stepped in front of her, blocking her way. They did that dance for a minute until Magenta realized that he was not about to let her go. "What's up with Layla?" Warren practically accused her.

"What's up with Layla," she repeated slowly, giving him an impressive death glare. "You mean why she's not talking to you?" Magenta said with a fake smile. Warren gave her a curt nod. "Well, you see, Layla doesn't like it when people are being an ass to her for no reason."

"I wasn't being and ass to her," Warren said lowly. If it was anyone else-other than Layla-they would have coward away from him. Magenta just crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Really, so snapping at her when she JUST walked into school is not being an ass?"

Warren ran a hand through his hair at the same time the final bell of school rang, letting the students out of class. "I want to talk to her."

"Yeah," Magenta nodded. Warren almost got his hopes up, "Not happening." He glared at her; she just glared at him back.

"I'm not going to start anything," Warren hissed at her.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe you."

The halls began to fill and people were watching Warren and Magenta. But neither looked at them, they were too focused on glaring at the other.

With a huff, Warren turned and walked towards Layla's locker. Warren could hear Magenta calling after him, but he ignored her. He was hoping that he would be able to convince her to talk to him. If there was one thing he knew about Layla, it was that she was horrible at holding grudges.

Warren stopped his approach to Layla's locker when he saw her talking to this kid he doesn't know very well. She was smiling and laughing at something he said, and the guy was just slouched against the locker Warren left a dent in this morning. Warren watched with growing fury as the guy brought his hand up and moved a strand of hair away from Layla's face.

That was enough, Warren snarled to himself. He marched up to the guy and grabbed the hand that was pulling away from Layla's hair and twisted it behind his back as Warren shoved him into the lockers with his other arm.

"Warren!" Layla said in shock. But Warren couldn't careless at the moment.

"Never," he growled at the guy he had pinned to the lockers. "Touch my girlfriend." Warren finished, tightening his hold on the guy and twisting his arm more.

"Okay, I'm sorry," He cried as Warrens touch burned his hands.

"Warren," Layla said loudly. "Let him go, you're hurting him." Layla reached out to grasp his shoulder, but she pulled away in pain. Warren looked at her in shock and then realized that he had burned her. He shoved the guy to the ground and turned to Layla.

"I'm sorry," he said as he moved closer to her. Layla moved back from him, cradling her hand to her chest. That motion nearly broke his heart. "I didn't mean to." Warren said getting more furious with himself. Couldn't he do anything right?

Layla looked like she was going to say something, but Principal Powers stepped forward, "Warren, you are on fire." For the first time, Warren noticed he really was on fire. No wonder Layla stepped away from him. Slowly he calmed his breathing and let the flames burn out as he continued to stare at Layla. "Layla, take Garth with you to the nurses and get your burns checked out. Warren, my office. Now."

**I LOVE jealous Warren.**

**And this is a fast update for me. And I hope I didn't disappoint you.**

**I promise the next update will come sooner.**

**Review please.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Layla stared down at her bandages with sad eyes. She felt awful, and not just because of the burn marks on her hand. No, she felt bad because of what happened to Garth. He was just being nice and trying to cheer her up. Layla had been in a bad mood all day and it was all because of Warren. It was ironic that Warren was the one who put her in the bad mood; he was the usually the one that cheered her up.

Garth was still in the nurses office getting his burns treated. The nurse took one look at her burns, gave her some ointment and wrapped her hand up, then shooed her out of the office so she could work on Garth. Layla was standing outside the office waiting for him to come out of the room to make sure that he was okay.

Ugh, she felt terrible.

"You okay?" Will said as he came to stand beside her.

Layla looked at him and saw pity in his eyes. Ugh, she didn't need this. Not now. "I'm fine." She told him tersely.

"Want to talk about it?" Will continued to probe.

Layla rounded on him with a glare. Will took a step back when he saw her expression. "No, Will, I do not want to talk about IT!" She growled at him. "I don't want to talk about how I am the reason Garth is in the nurses with burn marks."

Will held up his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry; I just thought you would like to talk about it."

"You thought wrong."

They stood in silence for a minute of two, before he cleared his throat. "Are your burns going to be okay?" He asked softly.

Layla looked at her hand for a moment. To her horror, tears began to enter her eyes and before she could stop them from falling, a sob escaped her and she began to cry. Will looked at her with shock before he brought her into a hug and held her tightly to his chest.

"It's going to be okay, Layla." Will comforted her. Layla knew that he didn't know what to say, but he knew that she really needed him to be there for her and she was glad that he didn't leave when she snapped at him. He was her best friend after all. She had been there for him his whole life; it was time to repay the favor.

"I was scared of him," Layla confessed after a few minutes of crying. "I wasn't sacred of HIM, per se. I mean, I KNOW that Warren would never hurt me intentionally. But for a moment, when he was all flames…I don't know, I was scared." Will nodded against the top of her head and held her tighter.

"Warren would never hurt you," Will supported her. "Look, I'm not exactly thrilled that you and Warren are friendly. But you are good for him. I'm not blind. I can see the changes in him when you're around. He cares a lot about you. And, Layla, you care for him too. I can't even begin to describe how you have changed since becoming his friend. You're breaking out of your shell. You're not afraid to take a risk every now and then. I've been trying to get you to do that for years. So…I might be a little jealous that he is the one bringing you could of your shell, but I'm happy none-the-less."

"Warren just put a guy in the nurses office for TALKING to me," Layla told him in shock. "How does that make him a good guy?"

"I didn't say that he was a good guy; I said that he was different when you are around. I mean, who else could sit at his table without him flaming up? Who else wouldn't have scorch marks on them if they interrupted him from reading? Name one other person that got Warren to attend a dinner with their family. I bet his ex-girlfriends couldn't even get him to do that."

Layla looked at him confused, "Why are you defending him?"

"Because Warren's not necessarily the bad guy in this scenario," Will admitted.

Layla sniffed at looked at him. "You hate Warren." She whispered after a moment of silence between them.

Will winced. "Hate is a strong word." Layla rolled her eyes at him. "I'll admit that I am not his biggest fan. But, you like him and that accounts to something in my book. If you see something in the guy, then there probably is something to him that makes him worthy of your…affection."

Layla looked at him in amusement as she pulled back from his arms, "Affection?"

Will shrugged sheepishly, "I couldn't think of a better word." Layla couldn't help but look at him like a lost puppy. She honestly didn't know what to do here. Will sighed before saying, "You said yourself that you knew Warren would never hurt you."

Layla nodded and wiped her face clean of tears. "So I should forgive him?"

"Well, he DID burn you; I can see why you wouldn't want to forgive him." Layla looked at him in outrage.

"It was an accident!"

"What about Garth?" Will shot back at her with a raised eye-brow.

Layla put her hands on her hips, "It was a misunderstanding." What was he doing? Will just gave her a list of reasons why she should forgive Warren and now he's trying to convince her that she shouldn't forgive him! Why is he being so confusing?

Will looked at her like she had two heads. "Warren shoving Garth into the lockers was an accident?"

Layla pursed her lips for a second before she nodded, "That part wasn't really an accident. But the burning was! Warren just wanted to intimidate him."

He snorted at her. "He doesn't need to try very hard. We all know who his father is."

"We all know who your father is, and this conversation proves that you are nothing like him." Layla said coldly.

Will looked at her in shock. "Wow," He breathed as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

Layla looked guilty as soon as she said it, "I'm sorry. that wasn't nice. But Will, you hate it when people compare you to your mother and father. Why would you do the same to Warren when we can all see that he's not like his father?" When Will didn't say anything, Layla went on. "You know that for the rest of your life, you are going to be following in your dads foot-steps. You will always be compared to him in every way there is; you have only had to deal with it a short time. Warren has had to deal with it his entire life. It's not fare of you to do that to him when he is in the same situation you are in yourself."

Will was silent for a moment. "Does this mean you forgive him?"

Layla looked down. Does this mean she forgave Warren? She knew that he didn't burn her on purpose. He honestly looked surprised when Principal Powers told him he was on fire. And the look in his eyes when she stepped away from him so she wouldn't get burned again? It nearly broke her heart.

"Yeah," Layla said softly. "I think it does."

Will nodded, "I'm sure if you hurry, you can catch him when he gets out of Powers' office."

Layla looked at him surprised; Will smiled back at her. Layla laughed as she caught on to what he had just done to her. "Reverse phycology."

Will laughed at shrugged. "What can I say, I learned from the pro." Will have her a pointed look and she laughed harder. She smiled happily at him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she turned and raced away from him.

….

….

…..

"That was pretty impressive." Magenta admitted as she walked up to Will and watched with him as the red haired girl practically flew down the hallway.

"I think she might be faster than I am," Will joked.

Magenta looked at him with a smile. "So, maybe you aren't such an asshole."

Will looked at her in confusion. "You thought I was one before?"

Magenta nodded, "If the shoe fits. But," She said before he could say anything. "What you just did for Layla…and Warren, it was really nice of you. I'm kind of surprised that you did it."

Will shrugged and shuffled his feet. "Layla's my best friend. She's been my best friend since I can remember. Most of the time, it's about what I want, what I want to do, what movie I want to see. Layla never complains, and she never turns her friends away. She always listens to me, no matter what time it is. That's what is so convenient about having your best friend live right next to you. Layla's done a lot for me over the years. It was time I did something for her in return. Warren makes her happy."

Magenta nodded, "It doesn't matter what we think of him. All that matters is what she thinks of him." They stood looking at each other for a moment.

"And that is why you are her other best friend."

Magenta snorted, "I wouldn't have convinced her to forgive him. I hate him."

Will looked at her amused, "Really, then what were you doing here?"

"I came to see if she would like to come over to my house." Magenta explained to him like she would a child.

Will nodded unconvinced, "I'm sure you were. Right after you tricked her into talking to Warren."

Magenta opened and closed her mouth. "Maybe," She finally admitted after a moment.

"You care about her just as much as I do. You just don't like people knowing it." Will smirked at her in triumph.

Magenta cleared her throat and stepped away from him. "I'll see you around, Will."

"Don't worry; I'll keep your secret." Will called after her with laughter in his voice.

**No Warren in this chapter, but lots of him in the next ;-) **

**Let me know what you think! I love it when you review.**

**Just a heads up: I feel like this story is coming to an end soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Warren sat with his arms crossed with a blank face as he stared at Principle Powers. With a sigh, he tilted his chair back and through his head back to look at the ceiling. He was getting tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. She had continued to repeat how she didn't understand how he could act this way. How could he jeopardize everything that he had worked so hard to achieve? Why would he put other people at risk? Not only had this happened before, but this time, he actually hurt a student.

If Warren had to sum all that up, he would say that Principle Powers was more pissed that this happened-again-at her school. She was pissed when it happened the first time, but because it happened with the precious Will Stronghold, they were both let off with a slap on the wrist. Warren knew that it would be suspicion of her to only suspend him when he AND Will participated in the fight.

Now that it happened again, she wanted to punish him. But Warren knew that deep down, Powers had a soft spot. He had never heard of her expelling a student before, why would she start now?

"What do I do now, Warren?" She asked again for the twentieth time.

And again, for the twentieth time, Warren stared at her with a bored face and stayed silent. He knew that his silence was only fueling the fire, but he really didn't care at this point. All he cared about was the look on Layla's face as she backed away from him. The look on her face was pure fear. She was afraid of him. **HIM!** Warren thought angrily. How could she think that he would ever hurt her? How could she look at him like she was terrified to get too close?

Why did he even care? It's not like he cared about her or anything. Sure she was cute, but in a small innocent puppy looking up at him with pleading at him to be nice to her sort of way. Ugh, she drove him crazy.

"Warren!"

He snapped his eyes towards Powers and looked directly in her eyes. She gave him pleading eyes and looked at him hopefully. Warren shrugged and Powers exhaled in annoyance. He hadn't said anything to her since they left the hallway.

"Look, Warren, I am trying to help you. I don't understand why you would act like this. Warren you have to take responsibility for your actions, you cannot just go around shoving other students into lockers and setting them on fire."

That was a lie, Warren thought as he tuned her out. He didn't set that loser on fire. He just…burned him a little. He was completely justified too. A person should never touch what doesn't belong to them.

It's not like Layla was his or anything. He didn't own her. It was just that he didn't like to share and Layla was his…friend. So, if he thought about it long enough, she was in some way his. And that loser was encroaching on his territory.

Tuning back in, Warren listened to Powers go on and on and on about how she "knows he is better than this".

"Why would you do something like that?" She asked him, hands on her hips as she stood up.

Silence.

"How could you hurt someone like that?"

More silence.

"You need to pay for your actions, Warren. Do you want to get kicked out of school?"

Silence. Warren blinked at her.

Powers sighed as she looked at him. She turned around and looked out at the court yard. She stared out the window for a few minutes and took deep steadying breathes while Warren contemplated how to get Layla to talk to him again. He should apologize; people do that when they are in trouble-even if they don't mean it. Warren wasn't really sorry for shoving the guy and singing him a little. But he was sorry that he had scarred Layla. He never wanted Layla to be afraid of him. Warren couldn't stand the thought of her being afraid of him.

There was a small part of his brain that was whispering to him that he had hurt her earlier. Layla had every right to be scared of him because she had burned her hand when she had touched his shoulder. Warren heaved a heavy breath as he remembered the pain he had seen in her eyes when she cradled her hand to her chest. It nearly broke his heart when she backed away from him.

But then there was the other, much louder side of his brain that said that she shouldn't have touched him if she knew that he was on fire. That Layla should have known that she was going to get hurt; if she touched him, she was going to get burned. Warren tended to listen to that side of his brain most of the time. He conveniently ignored the fact that it also got him into the most trouble.

Warren justified that it was all Layla's fault that she was burned. What Warren didn't understand was the feelings he felt when he saw the look on her face when he saw her back away.

See, this was why Warren didn't have friends. It was because they messed with his head. Here he was, arguing against himself because of his…feelings. Ugh, feelings. When he dated that Frost girl he never cared what she thought or how she felt. And here he was, sitting across from Principle Powers-again-because of some girl who had his…feelings all mixed up.

Warren was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw Powers turn around and look at him.

"Okay Warren. We will make a deal. From this moment on, you are going to be suspended for two weeks; this will still let you graduate on time with everyone next year as long as you take summer school classes. Also, you will have detention when you return; you will be picking up garbage and cleaning the labs. Am I clear?"

Warren stared at her debating his options, not that he had any…he just wanted to annoy her a little.

"Okay."

Warren tuned her out and decided that he was going to find Layla and apologize. If she could forgive Stronghold, then she could forgive him too. He didn't hurt her on purpose like Will did. Stronghold held on to her wrist and bruised her-on purpose. She was the one who touched him and got burned. She would forgive him. Warren was sure of that.

"You may go now Warren. The last bus will be here in a half hour."

Warren didn't wait another second; he was out of the chair and out the door before she could say anything else. He was going to get on the bus and he was going to go to Layla's house, pound on the door until someone opened the door and then he would demand to see Layla and convince her to forgive him. If she didn't, then…he…he didn't know yet. He would get to that when he reached her house.

He practically ran out of the office and collided with a body. It was a soft body, about three maybe four inches shorter than he was. He knew who it was before he even looked down.

"Layla?" He asked holding her away from him at arm's length.

She looked up at him and then pulled all the way from him. "I need to talk to you." She wasn't her usual smiling self; she wasn't looking at him with a grin on her face and cheerful words. She was serious and looking at him like he was a stranger. No, she would be smiling at a stranger and trying to make them laugh. Instead, she looked at him awkwardly and crossing her arms over her chest. This reminded him of Magenta.

Great, just what he needed.

"Yeah," Warren said in agreement. "Same here."

Layla lead him out into the front of the school, still not saying anything and keeping a safe distance away from him. Warren decided that that just pissed him off more.

Finally they came to a stop and she turned and looked at him. They didn't say anything for a moment before he felt the need to break the uncomfortable silence. "Layla…"

She cut him off, "I would like to go first." He frowned at her, but didn't say anything. "Look, I've put up with a lot of your…meanness over the past few months. You barely smile and sometimes, I feel like I am the only person you are nice to. And that's every other day. I can forgive a lot of things, and I can take a lot of…meanness, but this," Layla held up her bandaged hand for Warren to see. Like he hadn't been looking at it carefully as he followed her outside. "This has gone too far."

Warren closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry, Layla. I never meant to hurt you."

Layla looked at him sharply, "I know that Warren." Okay, Warren thought. That did not sound like the Layla he knew and lov….no, he was not finishing that thought.

"No need to get snippy," Warren sneered back at her. It was a defense mechanism, the school shrink had said. Whenever Warren felt backed into a corner, he would lash out in words…and sometimes fire.

"You try getting burned by your friend." She accused him. Okay, that was a good one. "I forgive you for the burn marks. I know you didn't do it on purpose. I was the one who touched you." Warren nodded. He already knew this, but he didn't think that this would be a good time to point that out. "But you purposely hurt my friend and you need to apologize to him."

"No," Warren said sharply. He was not about to apologize to the stupid loser who dared to tough what was his…and she was his…friend.

"Yes," Layla said as she placed her hand on her hips glaring at him.

"No." Warren growled at her taking a step forward. She was really starting to piss him off. But the fire blazing in her eyes was making him want to kiss her more than he did the night before on the porch.

"I." Layla poked him in the chest, sharply. "Said." Poke. "YES." Harder poke.

Warren couldn't stop himself. He didn't know what he was doing until his hand wrapped around her the back of her head and pulled her forward. Layla gasped right before his mouth sealed over hers. Christ, Warren thought to himself, Layla tasted better than he thought she would. And her lips were so soft, they practically molded against his. What amazed him the most was that Layla didn't pull away from him, not that he would have let her go if she tried. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him back with gusto. It surprised him for a moment, but he didn't hesitate to kiss her back.

They finally pulled back from each other when air became necessary.

"You still have to apologize to Garth." Layla said after a moment of silence as they fought to catch their breath.

"Ugh, you're killing me, here!" Warren said, jokingly, as he pulled her closer. He leaned forward to kiss her again, but she pulled away from him and out of his arms.

"Not until you talk to Garth."

'You are smart Warren, you can think your way out of this…just need a good excuse.' He thought to himself. He smiled at her, a toothy grin that made her narrow her eyes at him. "I will talk to him, when I get back from suspension." She glared at him and he composed himself. "I promise."

"You know," she said as she walked up to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and whispered into his ear, "If you don't, I will make your life a living nightmare."

She pulled away as the bus pulled up and he smirked as he followed her onto the bus. While he climbed the stairs, he wondered just how this red head was able to twist his feelings and make him actually care what she thought or how she felt. He was also wondering on how she learned to seductively whisper into a guy's ear. THAT he was looking to find out.

"There is one more thing that we need to clear up." Layla said pulling him down beside her in the seat. He didn't mind being man-handled…at least, not by her.

"And what is that?" Warren asked, sliding in as close to her as possible without her having to move onto his lap. Warren was pretty sure that was against the bus drivers rules.

"When you had Garth up against the lockers you said "Never touch my girlfriend."" Layla said in a horrible imitation of his voice. She looked at him expectantly for an answer…one that he couldn't give to her at the moment. So Warren leaned forward and kissed her. Layla kissed him back, but pulled away with a smirk, "I think it is time you answer my question."

Warren stared at her for a moment before he scowled. How was he supposed to remember everything that came out of his mouth? Okay, he remembered saying it; he just hoped that she didn't.

"It's what you are." Warren finally said.

"What kind of girlfriend?" Layla asked, not letting him off the loose.

Warren faked being dumb, "There is more than one kind?"

Layla scowled at him and looked out the window as she crossed her arms. Damn, he knew that she was angry and he knew that when she was angry, she tended not to speak to him…which in turn, made him angry.

"You're my girlfriend. As in more than just a friend," Warren clarified before she asked him to. By the way this was going: Layla was going to have this conversation in writing and signed with his blood.

She turned to face him and gave him a brilliant smile. His heart skipped a beat in his chest and began thumping crazily against is ribcage. This girl was beautiful and she was all his.

Layla Williams was now his, Warren Peace's, girlfriend.

Damn.

**The End!**

**I hope you liked it and leave a review.**

**Now, all I want to know is if I should make an Epilogue?**

**Happy Holidays **


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